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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25175755">Perfect Moments and Imperfect Promposals</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Blackhawk/pseuds/Lady_Blackhawk'>Lady_Blackhawk</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The In-Between of Alex and Charlie [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>13 Reasons Why (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Prom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:42:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,390</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25175755</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Blackhawk/pseuds/Lady_Blackhawk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Some moments leading up to Alex coming out to his parents, as well as how Charlie finally managed to ask Alex to prom. Set right before This Might Be Love. But it's in Canon so can be read on its own.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Charlie St. George/Alex Standall</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The In-Between of Alex and Charlie [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1796161</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Perfect Moments and Imperfect Promposals</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I had written this before This Might be Love and I just forgot to post it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alex had invited Charlie over because he just liked having him there and because he had promised his dad to invite him over when Peter was home. Alex and Peter were never particularly close. Peter was always athletic, while Alex preferred music and movies. They were brothers, and they loved each other. But if Alex was completely honest it sometimes felt like Peter had left for college and forgot about him. He still cared, sure, but it wasn’t the same, especially after his suicide attempt. It felt like Peter was keeping Alex at a distance. On some level, Alex understood that. But on others, it just felt like it wasn’t quite right.</p><p>But Alex knew one thing. He wasn’t straight, and he didn’t want to dwell too much on what he was. He did, however, really want his parents to meet Charlie.</p><p>“You know you don’t have to come out if you’re not ready,” Charlie had told him when they sat in his bedroom.</p><p>“I know. But I think…I spent a lot of time keeping way too many secrets from my parents and I want them to know about you because you’re pretty important to me.”</p><p>He heard his dad coming through the door. “I’ll be right back.” He pecked him on the lips and ran downstairs.</p><p>“Hey kiddo,” Bill greeted, “You cool with steaks tonight? I’m grilling.”</p><p>“Sounds great,” Alex said, meeting his dad in the kitchen. “Is it cool if my friend stays for dinner?”</p><p>“Zach or Tyler?”</p><p>“Um…it’s Charlie, actually.”</p><p>“I’m glad you invited Charlie,” Bill said with a smile. “He’s great.  I’ll text your mom and let her know. She should be home in an hour. Have you seen your brother? I’m going to need his help.”</p><p>“He’s in his room,” Alex had said and dashed up the stairs again.</p><p>Charlie meanwhile was just being his usual adorable Charlie self and flipping through his boyfriend's comics, while sitting on Alex’s bed.</p><p>“My dad already likes you,” Alex said and sat down beside him, “He says you’re great.”</p><p>“That I am,” replied Charlie smiling brightly. “Should I have maybe brought something? I mean meeting the parents is kind of a big deal…right?”</p><p>“You already brought the most important thing,” Alex said, kissing him on the cheek. “You’re here, and my dad already knows you.”</p><p>“Smooth,” Charlie noted. He placed his head on Alex’s shoulder. “Read me your comics.”</p><p>“Really? You want to hear…” he grabbed the issue he saw Charlie reading. “You want me to read to you the details of the battle between the Kree and the Skrulls over a teenager? Cause we kind of have to go pretty far back to understand the context.”</p><p>“Sure,” Charlie replied snuggling in. “I like hearing the sound of your voice.”</p><p>Charlie low-key took a small nap right there on Alex’s shoulder, with the soothing sounds of his boyfriend reading the tales of a bunch of random kids who dared to dress up as the sidekicks of the Avengers.</p><p>Bill had finished up the steaks and Carolyn and Peter were setting the table when he went up to Alex’s room to tell the boys to come down to dinner. He knocked, not bothering to open the door.</p><p>“Dinner’s ready boys, come on down.”</p><p>“You ready?” asked Alex as Charlie began to stretch.</p><p>“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”</p><p>Alex shrugged and he grabbed Charlie’s hand pulling him towards the stairs.  Clearly, his brother had said something funny to which his mother had replied with a sarcastic Thank you, Peter, and laughed. She heard the footsteps and turned.</p><p>“Ah, there you are boys,” Carolyn with a bright smile. “I don’t believe Peter and I have met our dinner guest, tonight.” Bill said a casual “Hey guys,” in the background.</p><p>“Uh…yeah…um…” began Alex, “This is Charlie.”</p><p>“Charlie St. George!?” said Peter all excited. “The new Liberty High quarterback?”</p><p>“Yup!” Alex said with a slight, nervous nod. “Um...and uh…also…he’s my boyfriend.”</p><p>Carolyn smiled brightly; Bill nodded as if he hadn’t been surprised. “Well, it’s nice to see you again Charlie. I hope you like steak.”</p><p>“Yes, sir!” Charlie said politely, feeling relief in the situation and for Alex, who so far had a blank look on his face.</p><p>“You’re dating the fucking quarterback?” asked Peter. “Sweet.”</p><p>Carolyn tried to shush Peter for his language. “That’s awesome! He continued, ignoring his mom. He gestured to the seat beside him. “Charlie, you’re sitting here, man. Come on, we gotta talk about Liberty’s offense.” His mother smiled. “Come on!”</p><p>Bill sighed. “Good luck, Charlie.” Alex wasn’t sure who was more excited about Charlie being there, him or Peter. It was like Alex had invited an NFL player to the house. He was over the moon. Peter and Alex didn’t always get along. But he was glad that his brother liked his boyfriend.  </p><p>His parents were happy for him, his mom was supportive and hugged him tightly. Alex smirked a little, seeing how easily Charlie fit in and sat down beside his mom to eat.</p><p>Charlie liked football, he did, and Alex’s brother was also a football player at college determined to become the next Football expert because he knew everything. Literally everything. The guy should have his own show, or podcast, or YouTube channel dedicated to college football. He managed to eat the steak and boy, Mr. Standall knew how to grill a quality steak. But man, could Peter talk, and Charlie enjoyed football, he considered himself a pretty good QB. But he really wanted to talk about literally anything other than Football.</p><p>Thankfully Mr. Standall was astute in the fine art of observation.</p><p>“Ok, ok,” Bill said, “That’s enough football talk for one day. Let Charlie catch his breath. Maybe he has other interests.”</p><p>Charlie smiled at Bill, thanking him for the pivot. But he still wanted to be kind to his boyfriend’s brother. “I don’t mind and Peter has some great ideas for the team for next year.”</p><p>“How’s school been?” asked Carolyn.</p><p>“Actually, that’s something we wanted to talk to you about,” said Alex and motioned for Charlie.</p><p>“As you know, my Dad is the head of the boosters, and I asked him for his help to get prom back.”</p><p>Bill and Carolyn listened intently. “And we think it’ll have more weight to it if you and some of the other parents and members of the boosters agree to chaperone.” Finished Alex. “What do you think Dad? Want to chaperone my high school prom?”</p><p>He watched as his father looked at his mom, and nodded as if his mind was somewhere else.</p><p>“You want to go to prom Alex?”</p><p>“Yeah, it means a lot to everyone and I think we all deserve a night of fun.” Charlie watched him for a moment, a lightbulb going off.</p><p>Carolyn nodded to her husband. “Well, alright then,” Billy said, “I’ll talk to Charlie’s dad and the other boosters at the next meeting. You’re really going to be cool if a bunch of parents chaperone the dance?”</p><p>“Sure,” Alex said smiling. “Who better to keep us all out of trouble than our own parents?”</p><p>Bill seemed to agree. “Ok. I’ll talk to Charlie’s Dad, and talk to the principal and Sherriff Diaz.”</p><p>“Just like that?” asked Alex.</p><p>“Well sure, kid. It’s prom. I still remember my high school prom.” Alex felt nervous for a moment like lost in a moment, as Bill and Carolyn both told stories of their respective prom experiences.</p><p>At the end of the night, Alex walked Charlie out to his car. “Thanks for being here with me. It means a lot.”</p><p>“No place I’d rather be,” Charlie replied with that goofy grin of his.</p><p> </p><p>After that evening Charlie couldn’t put the idea of asking Alex to prom out of his head. He kept mulling the idea over and over in the days that followed. The first thing he did was reach out to his friends and teammates who knew about him and Alex, to help him come up with something special to show him how special he is.</p><p>“I got it!” Luke said. “What if you wrote him a song?”</p><p>Charlie cringed. “Although my singing voice was the hit in the middle school choir, Alex is kind of a rock and metal fan. Plus, that’s a bit cheesy, even for me and it would be too much like when I asked Betty to homecoming. Alex deserves better.”</p><p>“You’re such a romantic,” added Diego.</p><p>“Oh!” piped up Robby “What if you did a banner?”</p><p>“A banner?”</p><p>“Yeah!” Robby suggested. “Last year, Zach and Jessica put a banner up for Alex’s birthday. You could do the same thing. Just maybe have it say, like, ‘go to prom with me’?”</p><p>“That would be great. I could um…what if we wrote it all out, to get his attention and then I can like, meet him by his locker or at the end of the banner with flowers?”</p><p>“Dude, that’s so sweet,” Diego said. “We’ll totally help you with the banner and we can get the cheerleading squad to help too. They make all our banners.”</p><p>Some of the guys have cheerleader girlfriends and they pitch in, as do the other guys. The banner is awesome. Charlie gets up early that morning to help put the banner up, but also to grab flowers and to make sure everything’s in order.</p><p>There Charlie stood, goofy grin, ready and…Alex walked right by it. He didn’t even turn to look at it. Maybe he was determined to get to his destination. Maybe Charlie was thinking too big, or maybe not big enough.</p><p>His next plan, just in the history classroom with him and their classmates, making sure that this time Alex couldn’t miss him. But Alex found it creepy and poor Charlie was at a loss for words as to what was left to do. He lowered the cutout of his face and sighed.</p><p>“Dude,” Diego said wrapping an arm around his friend, “Maybe you’re thinking too big.”</p><p>“But…Alex deserves big, he deserves really big.”</p><p>Diego smiled sympathetically at him. The entire football team concluded that while Charlie was a fiend on the field, he was absolutely the sweetest kid in the world.</p><p>“Dude you are so gone,” Diego said. “You told us that Alex was a little apprehensive about dating right?”</p><p>“Yeah?!” Charlie replied and the wheels on his brain were already turning, damn it! He should have known. He dropped his head. “Damn it! I should have realized.”</p><p>“Hey, hey, don’t worry about it. We can still help you; I just think…maybe you should do something a bit more…”</p><p>“Intimate?” asked Charlie. Diego nodded.</p><p>“There you go. Do something for him, maybe, I don’t know, take him out for lunch off-campus, or offer to drive him home. It doesn’t have to be huge, it just has to be meaningful.”</p><p>Charlie nods and stares out the window until class starts. When Alex comes back for class, he doesn’t say anything and neither does Charlie. At least not about the promposal. They both pretend it didn’t happen.</p><p>“Hey, any plans after school tomorrow?” Charlie finally asks as the bell rings.</p><p>“I’ve been tasked with cleaning out the old math book room,” Alex had replied. He saw the smile scowl just slightly on Charlie’s face. “But I can text you after, we could grab a coffee at Monet’s, go see a movie.”</p><p>Charlie smiled and the gears in his brain began to turn, ideas forming. He ended up missing lunch because he ran into Chad, one of Cyrus’s friends, who was the tech guy for all the theater shows. </p><p>“Question for you,” Charlie said sweetly. “How many prop candles do you guys have in the drama room.”</p><p>“Um…why?”</p><p>“Because I’m asking my boyfriend to go to prom with me and the school doesn’t allow live candles.”</p><p>“Um…how many do you need?”</p><p>“How many you got?” Chad motioned for Charlie to follow and led him to the theater room which had a large prop closet. It had everything from fake guns, which were in a locked cage of all things, boas, and canes, and tons of other stuff, including a shelf full of candles. “We have about twenty to thirty of each depending on the size.”</p><p>Chad disappeared for a second and returned with a box for Charlie to use to put the candles in. “Bring them back as soon as you’re done and we’ll be golden.”</p><p>He piled as many candles as he could into the box of various sizes and put them in his car before returning to the cafeteria, that goofy grin back on his face. Before the day ended Charlie had gotten a few people to help him with the plan.</p><p>It was perfect. He got all the white sparkly lights from the basement, borrowed some more from the prop room and he swears he’ll give it all back. He managed to find some giant letters too.  </p><p>And it works. He sneaks in there before Alex at the end of the school day and surprises him and it works and they kiss in the middle of that dorky room, with twinkle lights, and lots of prop candles and sign that reads “Prom?”</p><p>“So, who did you get to help you set all this up?” Alex couldn’t help but ask</p><p>“The football team and that guy Chad gave me the candles, which I promised to return. So, if we want to take any pictures, we should do so now.” Alex kissed him again. “Is that a yes on the pictures?”</p><p>“That’s a yes on the pictures. I’ll have to get used to those since my parents will be taking an insufferable amount of them.”</p><p>Charlie laughed and pulled Alex tightly before he went and grabbed a tripod and put his phone on a timer, positioning themselves to get a good angle. At the last second, Charlie pulled out a sign that said “Yes” on it and made Alex hold it up.</p><p>Alex rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hide the smirk on his face. Charlie glances at him and although that is his adorable smile, he can’t help but wonder if there’s something else in Alex’s eyes, behind them, something else he’s not telling him.</p>
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